Leek travelled to Abbotsholme for their home fixture against a Beacon side they hoped to do the double over having beaten them earlier in the season. The away team arrived with only one junior in their squad whereas Leek had seven.

From the pushback Leek looked the more likely to score, the upfront pair of Charlie Ward-Banner and Harry Housley-Tatton going close on numerous occasions. Toby Shuttlewood and Zac Cooper were combining down the right beautifully and were too fast and too skilful for their markers. The other midfielders Rob Lawley, Chris Taffe and Ben Wyatt worked really hard throughout the match and gave the opposition no time on the ball and when in possession spread the ball wisely, to allow attacks to build.

In goal Leek had the dependable Dylan Woodcock, who pulled off some fabulous reflex saves and a back three of Liam Brown, Phil Brown and Josh Barber.

The constant pressure down the right eventually paid off when Harry Housley-Tatton got on the end of a Zac Cooper cross to fire the home side into a well deserved lead.

Twenty minutes into the game Toby Shuttlewood skilled his way into the opposition D laying the ball off to man of the match Harry Housley-Tatton who had again got himself into a goal scoring position and didn’t waste the opportunity to add to his goal tally.

During the first half the opposition were rather unimaginative attempting to attack straight down the middle of the pitch which, given the strength of the Leek midfield was not a good idea. Leek however were continuing to play creative hockey building from the back with Liam Brown, who had an excellent game (despite picking up a finger injury during a first half collision with an opposition attacker) combining well with Zac Cooper and Ben Wyatt.

Leek went in at half time well on top and were disappointed not to be further ahead. The only fear was a second half injury, as the lack of substitutes has cost Leek wins earlier in the season. Fortunately on this occasion having no substitutes proved to be a positive as no-one was injured enough to be substituted and the team was perfectly balanced as it was.

The second half started with the opposition realising the midfield were too good for them attempting to use more width. This provided some success as they looked a little more dangerous but it wasn’t to provide a goal as Liam Brown and Josh Barber were dealing with the attacks and Dylan Woodcock was more than a match for any goal bound shots.

The third Leek goal was a result of good build up play through the midfield with Chris Taffe providing the final ball to Toby Shuttlewood who scored a goal he had more than earned.

Beacon scored a consolation goal from a short corner, which Leek then matched when Ben Wyatt, who had worked tirelessly throughout the match, also converted a penalty corner.

The match continued to the end with Leek on top frustrating the Beacon side to the extent one of their players was shown a green card after he had vented his frustration verbally.

This is one of the best performances of the season with every player contributing to a fantastic result against a team composed of many strong individuals. It was a testament to Leek the Beacon individuals weren’t allowed to play as a team as the work rate was such Leek broke down attacks before they amounted to anything. This is the second match in succession where Leek have scored 4 goals, with some tough matches ahead it was three points Leek needed